Sunday, November 25, 2007

Capsicums, bell peppers, pimientos all mean the same, depending upon which part of the world you hail from. My mother always called them "peppers", and grew the common green bell pepper every summer. I often wondered why they were called that, because they weren't hot at all. But as they are closely related to the chilli, something I'd never even tasted as a child, the penny finally dropped. Our ignorance of other cultures cuisine in those times has thankfully now gone.

The amazing varieties that are available today is a far cry from the days of just green peppers. Now we can enjoy all different colours, shapes, sizes and variations of flavours.

Developed in Japan , these little capsicums measure 8cm in diameter and 3-4cm deep. They are ideal for stuffing, so let your imagination run wild. Unfortunately they have a high seed content, so if you opt to char the skins whilst the capsicums are whole, as I foolishly did, be prepared for a fiddly seed removal, as the fruit (yes, capsicums are a fruit) loses it's rigidity, and tears very easily. You could remove the seeds first, then blacken the skins, a method that I will definitely try next time.

The red capsicums are sweeter than the green, due to the higher sugar content. They are full of vitamin C and beta carotene, a form of Vitamin A, and gives the fruit it's beautiful red colour.

After a day of visiting wineries, a cheese factory, and 2 olive groves, an antipasto platter was the order for dinner. Along with that, I baked a prosciutto loaf of bread to have with these Stuffed Baby Capsicums.

Chargrill or roast the baby capsicums lightly sprayed with extra virgin olive oil (or deseed first) until skins are blackened. Place in a freezer bag for a few minutes, to enable easier removal of the skins.

Gently fry the shallots, garlic and sausage in olive oil. If using dried italian herbs, they can go into the pan at this stage. Fry until the onions have softened.

Remove to a bowl and add cheeses to the hot onion mixture. If using fresh herbs, add these now.

Peel and deseed the capsicums. Be gentle here as they are soft and hard to handle.

Place in a gratin dish or small baking pan, and fill the hollowed capsicums with the stuffing mixture.

Thanks Kalyn and Peter. The original recipe called for bacon instead of sausage, but I had a beautiful spicy Italian sausage to use up instead. I thought it would be a nice change to filling them with feta and marinating in a herbed olive oil, which are still good however.

Thanks Lucy. I happen to live smack bang in the middle of heaps of wineries, but Saturday was spent in Rutherglen. We found a quaint little winery called Layback Manor which sells "Wicked Virgin Olives" along with olive oil, and their wines are called Calico Town Wines. Their medal winning olive oil, Nevadillo 2007, is so good, I could drink it.

My name is Shannon and I'm the editorial assistant at Foodbuzz.com. I am very impressed with the quality of your posts and to that end, I’d like to invite you to be a part of our newly launched Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program. I would love to send you more details about the program, so if you are interested, please email me at Shannon@foodbuzz.com.

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Shannon EliotEditorial Assistant, Foodbuzz.comshannon@foodbuzz.com

P.S. You might say you're not a chef or a great cook, but you sure are a great photographer. These pictures are beautiful! And I can't wait to try those stuffed peppers.

And thanks for posting those factoids on the peppers, too! Makes it all the more fun.

About Me

I'm not a chef, a baker or even a great cook. I have a new found love for food and cooking, with very little time to pursue this passion. Right now I'm in my "dough" phase, and the self imposed challenge of artisan bread baking has been put in my banneton. You're never too old to learn; it might take a bit longer, but the rewards are priceless.